In Memoriam: Lemmy

Yesterday we lost a true, certifiable, accept no substitutions, Rock God.

From the Official Motorhead Facebook page:

There is no easy way to say this…our mighty, noble friend Lemmy passed away today after a short battle with an extremely aggressive cancer. He had learnt of the disease on December 26th, and was at home, sitting in front of his favorite video game from The Rainbow which had recently made its way down the street, with his family.We cannot begin to express our shock and sadness, there aren’t words.We will say more in the coming days, but for now, please…play Motörhead loud, play Hawkwind loud, play Lemmy’s music LOUD. Have a drink or few.Share stories.Celebrate the LIFE this lovely, wonderful man celebrated so vibrantly himself.HE WOULD WANT EXACTLY THAT.Ian ‘Lemmy’ Kilmister1945 -2015Born to lose, lived to win.

I'm gonna be the first to admit it. I wasn't a diehard Motorhead fan. That doesn't mean that I can't appreciate the impact Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister had on the world of rock and metal. Every single thing Motorhead did kicked ass. It was ballsy, outlaw, "fuck you" music in a world that wanted more peace and love and Justin Biebers, Pharrells, and Nicki Minaj.

When Motorhead did something, they did it because they wanted to and fuck anybody who got in their way. That was how every song sounded. I don't care if you think "Ace of Spades" was the template for every Motorhead song, because you cannot appreciate the depth of how ballsy and amazing this man and this band were. When Motorhead did something, it was without compromise. It was without negotiation. They did what they wanted, when they wanted.

That was Lemmy.

I think this is the first time I was ever exposed to the greatness that was Lemmy.

DO YOU SEE THAT. DO YOU SEE THAT. That is Motorhead and Lemmy making Ice T and Whitfield Crane (of a band called Ugly Kid Joe that had exactly one hit) not only relevant, not only fresh, not only back in the public eye, but ballsy, "fuck you" level rockers.

That song was recorded for a movie called "Airheads" featuring Brendan Fraser, Adam Sandler, and Steve Buscemi, and it remains to this day the only good thing about that entire movie.

There are a handful of artists out there that could ever say they co-opted a song and made it better than the artist who originally wrote said song. The Man in Black, Johnny Cash was one. Lemmy was another.

In case you are the sort who likes to read and not watch or listen to videos, that is Motorhead taking Metallica's signature song. "Enter Sandman." The thing most people remember about Metallica and turning it into a Motorhead classic.

Because I was a rampant WWE fan, I will not forget the contributions Lemmy had to the professional wrestling world. Jean Paul Levesque, aka "Triple H," was a huge fan of Motorhead and Lemmy, and had the band record several theme songs for him. This being the big one that plays every single time Trips does a match these days.

It wasn't just that. When Triple H formed his version of the Four Horsemen, "Evolution," Lemmy was kind enough to indulge his overtly muscled friend with a new song.

When Triple H entered his last "Evolution" of his gimmick (You see what I did there?) he got another song from Motorhead to commemorate the change.

This wouldn't just be the note on which Trips built his "King of Kings" gimmick, it would also serve when Triple H stepped back a bit from in-ring work and served as part of "The Authority," the heel duo of himself and real-life wife Stephanie McMahon.

Lemmy wasn't about his WWE song work. He wasn't about his outside movie work. He lived on his own terms and had his own way of doing things. That's the best way I can describe a dude who wasn't a racist or white power type but loved collecting WWII era Nazi paraphernalia. You have to respect a guy who does stuff like that. And before people start getting on me about how "Oh that means he's racist sexist and homophobic" no. Most of you collect stuff. Lemmy liked Nazi paraphernalia.

I'd like to think he and the Man in Black are trading riffs right now in Heaven. Don't know. But I will leave on this note. Lemmy did not die. As long as we all raise a glass in his honor and blast his music loud Lemmy will be the worst solider ever. He will not die where he fell. This is a man who impacted generation on generation to get up out of their seats, raise the metal horns, and bang heads when the rest of the world would see him go quietly out of relevancy and put to pasture.

Right up to the day he gave up the ghost, Lemmy continued to be Lemmy and tour, play music, and give the world a big "fuck you."

So here's to you, Lemmy. May you finally get to kick ass in whatever afterlife awaits us all. Man was destined for greater things than this earth, and I'll keep all my Motorhead on blast for you for a good minute.